Review/plot:
A thief named Harlow got shot in the arm by a security guard while trying to break into a Stark facility. He still managed to get the test tubes he was after, but he's now on the run from the police. He flees into the suburbs and hides in the home of a kid named Lief, whose mom has left for the evening.

Ant-Man is also on the trail of the thief, and he follows a trail of blood to the house. But he finds Lief first.

Lief kills Ant-Man's steed, triggering a food fight.

This is definitely a "why doesn't he just grow to full size?" scenario.

While Ant-Man hides inside a roast chicken, Harlow comes out.

Ant-Man leaves Lief with the mess and an unconscious criminal on the ground (he tells him to call 911). Luckily, Lief's mom comes home.

Regarding the "why doesn't he just grow" question, the art actually makes a point of showing Ant-Man repeatedly drop his helmet. So i guess the idea is that he doesn't want to expose his secret identity. But the script never emphasizes that point, and the art also doesn't really emphasize it when Ant-Man gets his helmet back and grows. This isn't a case of miscommunication between writer and artist, either, because it's all done by Sandy Plunkett. I guess he just respects our intelligence and feels comfortable being a lot more subtle than most creators. That's actually pretty dangerous - you should not respect my intelligence while i am reading Marvel Comics Presents stories, because i am basically skimming them in a daze.

I wouldn't be surprised if the pitch for this story was "Home Alone meets Honey I Shrunk The Kids". It's kind of cute and "I popped out of a chicken" needs to go in Ant-Man's greatest hits reel.

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: This should take place before Ant-Man joins up with the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four Unlimited #5 & Fantastic Four #384.

Comments

That is some truly outstanding artwork! I've hardly seen any of Sandy Plunkett's work outside of several Marvel Universe Handbook entries. It's a nice blend of Neal Adams dynamics and Brian Bolland photo-realism. Great stuff!

Posted by:
Clutch |
April 6, 2017 1:18 PM

This art is amazing for MCP of this era

Posted by:
Bob |
April 6, 2017 3:21 PM

Count me as another fan of the art.
I see a hint of Kevin Nowlan

Posted by:
cullen |
April 7, 2017 3:15 AM

Yeah, this is art is great! He also did two Scarlet Witch stories in Marvel Fanfare (#6 and #58), and Wikipedia says Solo Avengers #19, but Fnord doesn't have him credited on that one.

Posted by:
S |
April 8, 2017 2:02 AM

I did have him on Solo Avengers #19 (the Black Panther story) but i typo'd his name. Fixed now.

Posted by:
fnord12 |
April 8, 2017 10:56 AM

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